WO2006015245A2 - Passerelle pour dispositif configurable universelle - Google Patents

Passerelle pour dispositif configurable universelle Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2006015245A2
WO2006015245A2 PCT/US2005/027048 US2005027048W WO2006015245A2 WO 2006015245 A2 WO2006015245 A2 WO 2006015245A2 US 2005027048 W US2005027048 W US 2005027048W WO 2006015245 A2 WO2006015245 A2 WO 2006015245A2
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
physical device
protocol
gateway
server
module
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2005/027048
Other languages
English (en)
Other versions
WO2006015245A3 (fr
Inventor
Tom Sheehan
Jay Hartley
Stephen Clementi
David M. Nowak
Original Assignee
Modius, Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Modius, Inc. filed Critical Modius, Inc.
Publication of WO2006015245A2 publication Critical patent/WO2006015245A2/fr
Publication of WO2006015245A3 publication Critical patent/WO2006015245A3/fr

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
    • H04L67/50—Network services
    • H04L67/56—Provisioning of proxy services
    • H04L67/59—Providing operational support to end devices by off-loading in the network or by emulation, e.g. when they are unavailable
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
    • H04L67/01—Protocols
    • H04L67/12—Protocols specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
    • H04L67/125—Protocols specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks involving control of end-device applications over a network
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
    • H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
    • H04L12/46—Interconnection of networks
    • H04L12/4604—LAN interconnection over a backbone network, e.g. Internet, Frame Relay
    • H04L12/462—LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone
    • H04L12/4625—Single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L12/00—Data switching networks
    • H04L12/66—Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
    • H04L41/02—Standardisation; Integration
    • H04L41/0213—Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
    • H04L41/02—Standardisation; Integration
    • H04L41/0246—Exchanging or transporting network management information using the Internet; Embedding network management web servers in network elements; Web-services-based protocols
    • H04L41/0253—Exchanging or transporting network management information using the Internet; Embedding network management web servers in network elements; Web-services-based protocols using browsers or web-pages for accessing management information
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
    • H04L41/04—Network management architectures or arrangements
    • H04L41/046—Network management architectures or arrangements comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
    • H04L41/22—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
    • H04L67/50—Network services
    • H04L67/56—Provisioning of proxy services
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
    • H04L67/50—Network services
    • H04L67/56—Provisioning of proxy services
    • H04L67/565—Conversion or adaptation of application format or content
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B2219/00—Program-control systems
    • G05B2219/20—Pc systems
    • G05B2219/25—Pc structure of the system
    • G05B2219/25217—Configure communication protocol, select between several
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L69/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services independent of the application payload and not provided for in the other groups of this subclass
    • H04L69/08—Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
    • H04L69/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services independent of the application payload and not provided for in the other groups of this subclass
    • H04L69/18—Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols

Definitions

  • the present invention relates in general to physical device management and in particular to an apparatus for enabling a network-level and protocol- neutral communication with a physical device.
  • Networked intelligent devices are virtually everywhere today, embedded into building management systems, medical devices, home thermostats, commercial chillers, HVAC systems, and automobiles to name a few.
  • Embedded software developers have long been aware of the engineering challenges and high costs associated with adding management capabilities to devices.
  • a significant problem is that the technologies available in the marketplace today often are limited to a specific manufacturers' products or a specific industry, and are only appropriate for certain customer requirements.
  • the present invention provides methods and devices for enabling generic communication between a software client and a device.
  • a feature of the present invention is directed towards techniques that enable device virtualization and make the device virtualization available to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
  • the present invention provides a method of providing a configurable, object-oriented, protocol-neutral interface between a physical device and a server.
  • the method includes coupling an application gateway with the physical device, where the application gateway includes a protocol gateway module configured for physical communication with the physical device, and an object adapter module configured for virtual communication between the physical device and a client application on a server.
  • the method further includes configuring a service starter to launch and bind the object adapter module with the protocol gateway module, configuring the protocol gateway module to define the physical interface between the physical device and the protocol gateway, and establishing communication between the protocol gateway module and the physical device, such that the physical device is exposed as a network device on the server.
  • the application gateway, the protocol gateway module, and the object adapter module are implemented as software agents.
  • the present invention provides an apparatus for connecting a physical device as a network device with a networked server.
  • the apparatus includes a first connector for attachment of the apparatus with the physical device, a second connector for attachment of the apparatus with the server, and a communication module connected with the first and the second connectors for establishing a communication between the physical device and the server.
  • the communication module includes a protocol gateway module configured for physical communication with the physical device, an object adapter module configured for virtual communication between the physical device and a client application on a server, a lookup service module for announcing the object adapter module to the server, and a service starter module for launching and binding the object adapter module with the protocol gateway module.
  • the object adapter is coupled with a remotely located client, and the client may be a server, or it may be an embedded controller.
  • Fig. 1 is an exemplary block diagram of the device application gateway architecture in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • Fig. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of the software components of one embodiment of the data collector portion of the device application gateway architecture of Fig. 1.
  • Fig. 2A is an exemplary data acquisition flow diagram showing the operations for acquiring data from a physical device by a client.
  • Fig. 2B is an exemplary control command flow diagram showing the operations for controlling a physical device by a client.
  • Fig. 2C is an exemplary flow chart of the poll activity of the object adapter of Fig. 2.
  • Fig. 2D is an exemplary flow chart of the data acquisition activity of the object adapter of Fig. 2.
  • Fig. 3 is an exemplary block diagram of an alternative structure for the client components shown in Fig. 2.
  • FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram of the data collector portion of the device application gateway architecture in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention running on a terminal server connected to an UPS communicating over a RS-232 serial connection.
  • FIG. 5 is an exemplary block diagram of the data collector portion of the device application gateway architecture in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention running on a serial network card installed on a server connected to multiple power devices over serial communication interfaces.
  • Fig. 6 is an exemplary diagram of one embodiment of the object adapter mapping corresponding to a Modbus device's registers.
  • Fig. 7 is an exemplary diagram of another embodiment of the object adapter mapping corresponding to a DFl device's data inputs/outputs.
  • DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0021] The present invention provides methods and devices for enabling generic communication between a software client and a physical device. Embodiments of a device application gateway to allow such generic communication will now be described.
  • the embodiments of the present invention enable a configurable communication with one or more devices through any communication network, eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming system integration.
  • This is achieved by the application gateway, or the device application gateway.
  • the application gateway, and the device application gateway are synonymous.
  • the application gateway enables a two-way communication between a physical device that is conventionally not addressable by a remote client or client application program and a remote client or client application program.
  • data is sent in a generic form from the requesting client, and commands are received in a generic form by the object adapter, which intermediates the communication with physical device to which it is connected, hi addition, it is envisaged that the above communication may occur across any communication network.
  • the above application gateway may be implemented in software or hardware either internal or external to the physical device with which the application gateway is connected.
  • the physical device with which communication and/or control is desired may be a power distribution equipment, environmental control equipment, security monitoring equipment, health/safety and fire equipment, a power supply device, an uninterrupted power supply (UPS), a compressor, any other infrastructure device or system, a serial gateway, a head-end system, a programmable logic controller (PLC), an HMI workstation, an IT server or a management system, or any device that supports industry- accepted protocols, including ModBus, Lon, DFl, N2, BACnet, CIP and SNMP, as well as other industry-accepted protocols, but other devices might also be so controlled.
  • UPS uninterrupted power supply
  • PLC programmable logic controller
  • Each such device is capable of generating and receiving I/O information over its vendor-defined communication interface, which might be an RS-232, RS-422, RS-485 or contact closure harnessing interface, for example.
  • I/O information is communicated between the device and a client application or device in accordance with the device vendor's defined native language protocol.
  • Embodiments of the application gateway by enabling system-level communication between a software client and a physical device can provide for a generic data access and management of data from devices for management and control in many industrial applications in many industries including but not limited to building automation and industrial automation and process control.
  • industrial applications include applications in the automotive, telecommunications, manufacturing, retail, health care, education, government, warehousing and distribution.
  • application service providers, internet service providers, managed service providers, control system integrators, general contractors and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can also benefit greatly from the embodiments of the present invention.
  • the device application gateway(s) can provide for a generic communication between any device and any application layer of a software client, by virtualizing the physical device such that the physical device is exposed as a networked device on a system server.
  • Fig. 1 is an exemplary block diagram 100 of the device application gateway architecture in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • the architecture model depicted in Fig. 1 shows three modules, namely a data collector 102, a data manager 104 and a data presenter 106.
  • the modules enable one or more devices 120 to communicate with one or more clients 122 via the application gateway 124. These modules can be implemented separately or in combination for maximum flexibility.
  • the data collector 102 collects manufacturer-specific signals from the devices, such as devices 112A-C (collectively 120).
  • the data collector evaluates the signals and transforms them into standardized data packets of actionable information.
  • the data collector can perform basic computations to enhance and add meaning to the information.
  • the data manager 104 by performing additional analysis and computation, optimizes the efficiency of data interpretation, transformation and transmission.
  • the data manager 104 can present data from data collectors to external systems such as building management systems (BMS) or network management systems (NMS).
  • BMS building management systems
  • NMS network management systems
  • the data manager 104 can also store the device data in a normalized form for subsequent analysis and reporting, for example by enterprise level applications 108, or other analytical software 110, or the data presenter 106.
  • the data presenter 106 can dynamically present the data in a single dashboard view, making it easy for the viewer to understand and act upon the data.
  • the device application gateway's data collector 102 is in communication with a server using an Internet Protocol (IP) packet-based communications link.
  • IP Internet Protocol
  • the data collector 102 which collects manufacturer-specific signals and transforms them into standardized data packets of actionable information, can be configured to provide the data to any client application, which may include enterprise level applications 108, or other analytical software 110, the data manager 104 or the data presenter 106.
  • the software architecture of the device application gateway 124 is based on the notion of a software agent.
  • an agent represents an element of the digital library (collection or service) to a client, and is an encapsulated piece of software that can have the following properties, namely autonomy, negotiation and mobility.
  • An autonomous agent represents both the capabilities (ability to compute something) and the preferences over how that capability is used. Thus, agents have the ability to reason about how they use their resources, hi other words, an agent does not have to fulfill every request for service, only those consistent with its preferences. A traditional computer program does not have this reasoning ability. In reference to the negotiation attribute, since the agents are autonomous, they need to negotiate with other agents to gain access to other resources or capabilities.
  • the process of negotiation can be, but is not required to be, stateful and will often consist of a conversation sequence, where multiple messages are exchanged according to some prescribed protocol, which itself can be negotiated.
  • a mobile agent is one that itself or parts of it can migrate from one environment (e.g., the embedded card, 116) to another environment (e.g., data collector 102) and continue execution.
  • Rules for controlling each device or piece of facilities equipment 120 are provided by the application gateway 124 to each physical device, when requested by a client 108. Rules for monitoring each piece of facilities equipment are programmed to, and remain resident and operational on, the application gateway.
  • System users may dispose (or distribute) application gateways in any manner so as to promote equipment management in any geographic location, so long as the application gateway has access to a voice or data connection that supports Internet Protocol (IP) packet-based communications.
  • IP Internet Protocol
  • System users can connect to the application gateway in order to view or manage gateway operations, individual gateways and/or their supported infrastructure equipment through a common browser application or a web-enabled spreadsheet via a voice or data connection that supports IP packet-based communications.
  • IP Internet Protocol
  • the application gateway architecture provides support for multi- vendor facilities architectures and is able to control supported apparatus by hosting, storing and communicating operating rules and protocols necessary to communicate with and manage any particular piece of facilities equipment.
  • the application gateway architecture of the present invention can be implemented in a client/server configuration architecture, with the gateway responsible for direct communication with particular pieces of infrastructure equipment, in their native language protocols, so as to gather apparatus-specific monitoring information, and with the client responsible for analyzing system-variable response-metrics and adaptively provide control responses thereto.
  • the application gateway is the server, and the analysis tool is the client; and a system-variable response-metrics includes for example a variable indicative of the operating status of a particular piece of infrastructure equipment.
  • a client in addition to its conventional definition, refers to any device, system or process that can be a consumer of the data that is provided by the data collector.
  • the client can be the master of the data collector.
  • clients may be servers, applications, embedded systems, etc. However, in all cases, they act to consume data produced by the agents as well as to control the physical devices by way of sending command messages to the agents.
  • the agent is embodied by the implementation of the object adapter and the protocol gateway, and there can be any number of clients for a given agent.
  • the application gateway may expose data from one or more devices 112A-C to a variety of enterprise applications 108, simultaneously, in standard formats recognizable to those applications.
  • the application gateway deployed on discreet serial processors 114 (e.g., about the size of a deck of cards) or embedded communication cards 116, can connect the intelligent device(s) 112A-C to the enterprise application 108, or other upstream applications.
  • Pertinent to an appreciation of the application gateway is an understanding of the forms and types of devices or facilities equipment that may be interfaced with a server embodying the application gateway. Such devices are known to be not feasibly interfaced with a server, and at best may require expensive hardware upgrades to enable their interfacing with a server. Such devices (e.g., devices 112A-C of Fig. 1) may belong to any one of categories of facilities management equipment. Various devices and communication protocols through which they receive/provide I/O are described below. These devices can be interfaced with a client software program through the application gateway.
  • Power supply and distribution equipment typically includes utility power monitoring equipment that measures power line state with current and voltage transducers disposed along distributed lines, utility metering equipment that measures the quantity of power used, power distribution units (PDU's) that distribute line power to a local environment, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS's) that supply instantaneous power in the event of a line interruption, generators that provide long term power in the event of a line interruption, or a local set of equipment and switch gear systems that supply and distribute power from a main transmission or reception point.
  • PDU's power distribution units
  • UPS's uninterruptible power supplies
  • These types of power facilities typically provide information as to system state over RS-232, RS-422 or RS-485 serial interfaces, CEbus busses, or in certain cases, via contact closure.
  • Environmental control equipment typically includes heat, vent, air conditioning and refrigeration units (HVACR), leak detection systems for detecting fluid leaks in certain buildings as well as underground storage tanks, and heating systems that supply heat to a process pipe for hotel hot water systems, chemical plants, pipelines, and the like.
  • HVACCR heat, vent, air conditioning and refrigeration units
  • leak detection systems for detecting fluid leaks in certain buildings as well as underground storage tanks
  • heating systems that supply heat to a process pipe for hotel hot water systems, chemical plants, pipelines, and the like.
  • environmental equipment typically provides information over RS-232, RS-422 or RS-485 serial, or CEbus interfaces, depending on the vendor. System state information is also available in contact closure form.
  • Health/safety/fire monitoring equipment are typically installed in panel form that monitor the status of smoke, heat, fire or distress sensors in any given facility.
  • System state information is typically available over an RS-232 or RS-485 interface. Certain equipment manufacturers also configure their equipment to provide information over Cebus interfaces.
  • a parallel port feed is also commonly used to develop information from health/safety/fire monitoring equipment as well as contact closure. Again, the system state information interface is dependent on the choice of vendor.
  • Security systems include closed contact alarm sensors, motion sensors, and the like, and may also include closed circuit video monitoring systems and web-based cameras.
  • Sensor-based information is conventionally available over CEbus interface busses, and very commonly over RS-232, RS-422 and RS-485 serial interfaces, while video graphic information from security cameras may be processed by some form of video compression, prior to transmission, and are conventionally available as JPEG compressed video images.
  • each piece of infrastructure equipment is able to communicate with a physical device and/or a management server, or a client by sending system state information, in a predetermined form and format, to its serial or parallel communication interface port, and by receiving control commands, in the same predetermined form and format, from the application gateway.
  • the meaning of each control code, and the actions to be taken by a particular piece of facilities equipment in response thereto, are defined by each individual vendor or manufacturer and are conventionally termed vendor codes.
  • the physical form of vendor codes are not especially relevant to practice of the invention, and need not be described in detail herein. It is sufficient to mention that vendor codes may be expressed in a variety of forms including sequences of ASCII characters, vendor defined binary byte sequences, "C" codes, "C++” codes, JAVA codes, and the like, including any digital signal variant thereof.
  • Vendor codes provide monitoring information about, and control information to, a particular piece of equipment. Vendor control codes command a piece of equipment to take a certain required action on the basis of monitoring response variables passed by the machine to the application gateway, and thence to the management server.
  • the combination of vendor codes directed to a particular apparatus and the system response variables returned by the apparatus are often referred to as that apparatus' native language protocol.
  • Equipment manufacturers and vendors each typically define their own native language protocols, or adopt one of various industry standard protocols. Accordingly, in order to be able to communicate with a wide variety of equipment, some means are provided so that the system of the present invention is able to communicate with various types of infrastructure equipment in accordance with their native language protocols.
  • the application gateway offers a breakthrough in Enterprise Device Management (EDM), an emergent field within the larger sphere known as Machine-to- Machine (M2M) technology.
  • EDM Enterprise Device Management
  • M2M Machine-to- Machine
  • the application gateway can expose the data in virtually any physical or infrastructure device and can thus enable the control of that device, regardless of the communication protocol it uses.
  • the application gateway's process normalizes the device data into standard nomenclature, transforming it into meaningful and actionable information, thus enabling the sharing of this information through a wide variety of reporting mechanisms.
  • the application gateway can also enable easy reconfiguration, as the modules that execute software routines can be easily expanded and thus enable the performance of even higher-value analytics on the data they collect.
  • the device application gateway provides data management and control functionality that can run anywhere, and on any system using a small software footprint.
  • the small footprint is a desired characteristic of control and automation systems.
  • the application gateway can live on the device itself, on a serial gateway, on a head end system, on a PLC, an HMI workstation, or any IT server or management system, regardless of manufacturer make or model.
  • True application-to-application communications are enabled from the physical device and then across multiple systems. This means that physical devices and the control systems living upstream can interoperate easily and take advantage of rich functionality while leveraging the standards used by modern IT systems.
  • the application gateway in general and the data collector 102 and the data manager 104 modules provide support for devices that support ModBus, Lon, DFl, N2, BACnet, CIP, and SNMP devices, as well as other industry- accepted protocols.
  • Fig. 2 is an exemplary block diagram 200 of the software components of the data collector portion 202 of the application gateway architecture in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
  • various devices 204A-C are enabled to exchange their proprietary data via a serial protocol with a client application 206.
  • the data collector 202 includes various modules, namely: a service starter 208, a protocol gateway 212, one or more object adapters 21 OA-C, and a look up service 214.
  • the data collector 202 exchanges data from devices 204A-C with client applications 206 using standard IP protocols.
  • the data collector 202 exchanges data from devices 204A-C with client applications 206 using standard IP protocols, via a web server 216.
  • a web server 216 there exists one instance of the object adapter 210 for each physical device 204.
  • the data collector 202 provides secure access to devices via various communication protocols, including serial protocols, such as RS-232, RS- 422 and RS-485, and TCP/IP Ethernet, including wired and wireless variants thereof.
  • the data collector also provides a configurable, object-oriented, protocol-neutral interface to devices via an attribute mapping.
  • the attribute mapping is stored in one or more attribute configuration files, for example in XML format.
  • the attribute map serves three purposes.
  • the first purpose is a general description of each device attribute, including but not restricted to name, short description, data type, unit of measure, and whether the attribute is read-only or allows write access.
  • the second purpose is to map the attribute to an address that can be used by the object adapter to query the data source for the value.
  • the format of this addressing is protocol-specific.
  • Example addressing might be a memory address, a database entry, a ModBus register, or a BACnet object attribute.
  • the address parameterizes the variations in data access that may occur within the protocol specification.
  • a 16-bit Modbus register may contain data for a single 16-bit value, 16 single-bit values, or half of the data for a 32-bit value.
  • the attribute address in the object adapter provides the information necessary to construct a query in the protocol language and decode the response into a meaningful value.
  • This approach allows users to add support for new devices without rewriting (protocol) object adapter code. For example, new XML files are generated describing the attributes of the new device and the protocol- specific mechanism for accessing the attribute values.
  • the third, optional, purpose of the attribute configuration is to define a calculation to be performed on the raw data in generating the attribute value. For example, a 16-bit value from the device may represent a valve position, where 4000 represents closed (0%) and 20000 represents open (100%).
  • the data collector 202 of the application gateway provides direct support for integration of services into industry standard network environments.
  • the core components are designed for use in a distributed environment, but are independent of the particular network transport mechanism.
  • Exemplary industry standard network environments include the Java Management Extensions (JMX) Remote API, Jini, Web services, or an enterprise message bus.
  • Each of these communication technologies enables a distributed application composed of network services that can be dynamically discovered by clients and other services.
  • the network transport layer provides security features such as encryption and authentication.
  • the data collector as implemented in a standard open architecture produces well-behaved, robust, fault-tolerant, secure, highly scalable services suitable for serving as the basis of enterprise management system instrumentation.
  • the data collector 202 communicates over a standard open-architecture network, for example a message bus, with a client application 206.
  • the open architecture network technology provides a sound basis for implementing and deploying distributed systems at a variety of scales from the very small implementations to the very large implementations.
  • management systems are decidedly distributed, the data collector uses the network environment as the foundation of its management systems framework.
  • the primary benefits of this choice include: flexibility of physical distribution of system nodes; security; dynamic discovery and federation of system elements; fault tolerance; scalability; and embeddability.
  • the data collector's various modules namely: the protocol gateway 212, one or more object adapters 21 OA-C, the service starter 208, and the look up service 214 are described below in further detail.
  • Protocol Gateway [0045]
  • the protocol gateway 212 can be the basis for communication with remote (networked) devices (or other systems) via a native protocol.
  • the protocol gateway 212 allows for the physical equipment to be represented on the network environment even if the device does not natively provide for this capability.
  • the protocol gateway interface defines general methods that are provided for any low-level protocol.
  • the protocol gateway interface's methods are defined to send messages to a device synchronously; send messages to a device asynchronously; and register a receiver for asynchronous notifications.
  • the asynchronous notifications may be responses to asynchronous requests, events generated by the protocol gateway itself, or, if supported by the protocol, unsolicited events generated by the managed device.
  • a protocol gateway can typically implement these methods for a single protocol, for example Modbus, DFl, and so on.
  • the protocol gateway interface can break protocol communication down to protocol request objects, with corresponding protocol responses, and protocol events that may be generated asynchronously by the end device. The specifics of the objects used depend on the protocol, so a protocol gateway client knows some details about the underlying protocol.
  • an administrative interface can be defined for managing the protocol gateway. The administrative interface can include methods to start and stop the gateway service and to get the name and description of the protocol implemented by the gateway.
  • the administrative interface can expose protocol-specific configuration properties or attributes, such as protocol variant, version, serial communication parameters (e.g., baud rate, data bits, stop bits), and serial hardware (e.g.,RS-232, RS-485 2- wire, RS-485 4-wire).
  • the administrative interface can also provide methods for retrieving the list of protocol-specific configuration properties, then reading and writing the values of those properties.
  • a purpose of the protocol gateway is to expose the protocol communication in an object-oriented manner and make it available as a network service.
  • a ModBus protocol gateway which is one example of a specific protocol gateway, is described below. [0046]
  • a ModBus protocol gateway interface defines common (standardized) access methods for communicating with ModBus enabled devices.
  • the service is a specialization of the protocol gateway interface that defines a (standardized) common access method for gateways generally.
  • the ModBus specific interface does not add functional constraints to the protocol gateway; it allows for the enterprise to communicate with ModBus devices in a standard manner.
  • Methods for the ModBus protocol gateway are supplied to: send messages to a device synchronously; send messages to a device asynchronously; and register a receiver for asynchronous notifications. With regards to registering, the notifications are responses to asynchronously sent messages or events generated by the protocol gateway itself, since the Modbus protocol is a strict master-slave protocol that does not support unsolicited messages from the slave.
  • mapping of synchronous protocols (master-slave oriented, request/response oriented, etc.) to an asynchronous event model is one aspect of the device virtualization performed by the application gateway. This enables clients/consumers of information to be preemptively notified of events originating at the physical device, even if the physical device has no capability of communicating such events.
  • the base implementation of ModBus protocol gateway can be intended for use as a normal Java class (i.e., it imports the package and uses it locally). Using this implementation directly serves the needs of those writing dedicated ModBus applications that do not need a distributed network environment.
  • the ModBus protocol gateway is also provided as a network service, in order to enable the protocol's implementation in distributed applications.
  • Object Adapter [0048]
  • the one or more object adapters 21 OA-C are the basic abstraction allowing application writers to communicate with specific remotely located (networked) objects without regard to the underlying native communication protocols.
  • a protocol object adapter represents a physical device or system as a collection of named attributes.
  • the adapters are responsible for providing a mapping of logical attribute name(s) to the particular physical implementation employed. For example, access to a device attribute named Output Power ' looks the same whether the implementation relies on a ModBus request of a device, a call to a BACnet device, or a query against a relational database that periodically updates the state of the physical entity.
  • the protocol object adapter interface can provide methods for retrieving descriptive information or metadata about the object's attributes, for retrieving the current values of one or more attributes by name, for setting the value of writable attributes, for establishing periodic polling of a set of attributes, and for registering asynchronous notification of events generated by the end device or the object adapter itself.
  • the protocol object adapter interface can also define a method for releasing an attribute value.
  • the value of a device attribute may be determined by a combination of internal sensors, settings, and/or computation.
  • a write command can be used to override the device's internal mechanism and fix an attribute value in order to modify the device's behavior.
  • a later released command does not set a specific value for the attribute, but removes the override and allows the attribute value to again vary based on the device's internal logic. Not all protocols support a release command but the object adapter interface can provide access to this control command for those protocols that do support it.
  • the protocol object adapter can also provide an administrative interface for managing the protocol object adapter. This interface can provide methods similar to the protocol gateway for starting and stopping the service as well as querying the name and description of the implemented protocol. In addition, methods are provided that can bind the protocol object adapter to a protocol gateway, and to set a default polling period. Further details of the operation of the object adapter, its polling activity, its data acquisition activity and its control command activity are described below in conjunction with Figs. 2A-D.
  • Polling is an asynchronous process in which the object adapter repeatedly sends a request for data through the protocol gateway, then calls back to the client with the latest attribute values.
  • the values of protocol object adapter attributes are presented in a structure that includes a data value object and a time stamp (e.g., millisecond) of when the data was collected.
  • a time stamp e.g., millisecond
  • the use of a generic object for the data value allows for standard numeric and Boolean values, as well as more unusual attribute values such as camera images.
  • communication errors can be communicated by setting the value of the attribute as an exception object describing the error. This is superior to using arbitrary numeric values for invalid data such as the IEEE floating point standard "Not a Number" (NaN).
  • time stamp to the data points enables many types of data analysis, such as determining the root cause of a system failure. If the underlying device protocol does not provide the time stamp, then the object adapter assigns a time stamp based on timing information provided in the response from the protocol gateway. Various examples of specific object adapters are described below.
  • Fig. 2A is an exemplary data acquisition flow diagram 260 showing the acquisition of data from a physical device by the client.
  • protocol data stream is provided to the gateway 264A, where the data objects are processed and transmitted to the object adapter 266 A in the form of time- stamped response objects.
  • the object adapter 266A raw native point values get converted into computed point values using unit conversion to scale and offset the raw values.
  • the computed data point values and their time stamps are collected into a data event and forwarded on to the data collector's network publisher 268A.
  • the event data may optionally be filtered for changed values, and the event data is encrypted and published.
  • the encrypted and published data is transmitted to the network subscriber 270A that decrypts the data and sends the data to the client 272A, where the data event is processed.
  • Fig. 2B is an exemplary control command flow diagram 280 showing the controlling of a physical device 262B by a client 272B.
  • a client 272B requests the setting of a point value (e.g., setting a valve's position) the request is sent to the client's network publisher 270B, where the request is encrypted and published.
  • the encrypted and published request is send to the data collector's network subscriber 268B, where the requested set point data is decrypted and send to the object adapter 266B.
  • the client's write permission is verified, the set point checked for writeability, the scaled set point data is inverse converted to the native scale and a write request object is constructed and sent to the gateway 264B.
  • the gateway 264B receives the request object, converts it to the protocol data stream and transmits it to the device 262B, where the point value is set.
  • Fig. 2D is an exemplary flow chart of the data acquisition activity of the object adapter of Fig. 2. This figure shows where the operations described in Figs. 2A-B take place, and how the data operations of the client 272, object adapter 266, the gateway 264 and the device 262 can be related. For example, once a client 272 sends a request to get data from a device 272, the client can request point values and can process the point values 704 that have been received from the object adapter. The object adapter 266 can verify the client's read permission 706, can construct optimized requests 708, and can send requests to the gateway 710. In addition, the object adapter can map responses to point values 712 and can return point values 714.
  • Fig. 2C is an exemplary flow chart 600 of the poll activity of the object adapter of Fig. 2. This figure shows where the operations described in Figs. 2A-B take place, and how the data operations of the client 272, object adapter 266, the gateway 264 and the device 262 can be related. For example, the client can request the polling of points 602, can wait for data 604, can continue polling and can processes point values 608.
  • the object adapter 266 can verify a client read request 610, can construct optimized requests 612, can store the requests 614, and can send requests to the gateway 616.
  • the object adapter 266, can map responses to point values, can return point values 620, or stop polling, and discard stored requests 630.
  • the object adapter can also schedule the next poll 626 and can wait 628.
  • the gateway 264 can convert requests to protocol commands 632, can transmit commands to a device 634, can convert protocol data to a response object 636, can check for more commands 638, can determine if the commands are complete 640 and can return responses 642 to the object adapter.
  • the device 262 can process protocol commands 644 and can transmit data 646.
  • the usage of the object adapter 210 may be described as follows. First, a client program or an end user requests Output Current, Output Power, and all digital attributes from one or more object adapters. For the purpose of this description, there are two object adapters in operation, a Modbus and a DFl object adapter. Next, the Modbus object adapter maps this request into a request for 2 holding registers starting at register 4 and a separate request for 5 input status registers starting at register 1. Then, the Modbus object adapter sends both to the end device through the Modbus gateway.
  • the DFl object adapter maps this request into one request for 4 bytes (2 16- bit values) starting at address '10:3,' and a separate request for one byte (8 single-bit values) starting at address '11 :0.' Then, the DFl object adapter sends both to the end device through the DFl gateway.
  • gateways translate data structures containing requests into serial message packets and forward them to the end devices.
  • the gateways receive serial packets in response, parse them into data structures and assign time stamps based on transmission and reception times.
  • each object adapter receives two time-stamped responses from its gateway and maps values back to named attributes.
  • Modbus object adapter reports to the client program that Output Current is 10, Output Power is 1100, UnitOnline is true, and all other digital points are false. Also, the DFl object adapter reports that Output Current is 5, Output Power is 580, UnitOnline is true, and all other digital points are false. ModBus Object Adapter
  • the ModBus Object Adapter is an exemplary protocol object adapter for the ModBus protocol.
  • a purpose of this specialization is identification of the actual communication protocol in use. This knowledge is needed for configuration purposes as the specifics of supplying attribute mapping data to a protocol object adapter may vary from protocol to protocol.
  • Fig. 6 is an exemplary diagram of the object adapter mapping corresponding to a Modbus device's registers.
  • the Allen Bradley DFl object adapter is an exemplary protocol object adapter for the DFl protocol.
  • a purpose of this specialization is identification of the actual communication protocol in use; DFl in this case. This knowledge is needed for configuration purposes as the specifics of supplying attribute mapping data to a protocol object adapter may vary from protocol to protocol.
  • Fig. 7 is an exemplary diagram of the object adapter mapping corresponding to a DFl device's data inputs/outputs. Lookup Service
  • a lookup service operates as a centralized resource for distributed services to discover one another.
  • the implementation of the lookup service is dependent on the networking technology chosen, such as a Jini lookup service, a message bus broker, or a Web Services Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) service.
  • the Lookup Service supports the federation of machines or programs into a single, dynamic distributed system. Devices participating in such a system can enter and leave at will, can tolerate network and system variability, and can offer services and resources to other devices and systems in the federation.
  • a service refers to an entity that can be used by a person, group of people, organization, program or other service.
  • the service can be anything that can be offered by a computational, networked device, including access to a network, computation, storage, information, access to hardware (such as a printer, modem, etc.) or another user.
  • Clients are able to discover and utilize the services provided by members of the federation.
  • the service starter is a utility for launching the application gateway services in a shared environment. Depending on the platform, this utility may be implemented as a remotely manageable network service or a more standard local application.
  • the service starter is also responsible for launching any networking components used in exposing the core components, and optionally itself, as network services, such as a Jini exporter or a messaging module.
  • the service starter can be configured to launch any combination of available services and components.
  • Fig. 3 is an exemplary block diagram of an alternative structure for the client components shown in Fig. 2.
  • the difference between Figs. 2 and 3 is in the client application 206 that is communicating with the device or devices through the data collector module.
  • the client application can be any one or more of various monitoring or control systems, such as a Web server, a network management services (“NMS”) system, a building automation system (“BAS”) system, a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (“SCADA”) system, a work ticket system, a Relational Database Management System (“RDBMS”), and so on.
  • NMS network management services
  • BAS building automation system
  • SCADA Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
  • RDBMS Relational Database Management System
  • the client application 206 that communicates with the one or more device(s) 204A-C through the data collector module 202 may be a building master management system (or other master management system) 250 that communicates via an optional protocol bridge module 252 with the data collector 202.
  • the protocol bridge 252 can encompass both a set of software components and a hardware platform.
  • the software components allow for interconnection of arbitrary devices utilizing a variety of communication protocols with a specific controls system. In one exemplary implementation, interconnection with the control system is accomplished via the N2 bus. Alternately, a BACnet bus may be used. Other equivalent bus architectures may be also used.
  • the hardware platform supplies an appropriate physical and computing environment for the Protocol Bridge.
  • the protocol bridge module 252 is used when the application programming interface ("API") is the preferred method the client software wants to communicate through.
  • API application programming interface
  • the table below enumerates one embodiment of the functional components of the protocol bridge platform. It should be noted that the standards used by each of the functions are exemplary ones and other equivalent implementations are also within the scope of the embodiments of the present invention.
  • Network communication uses IP. Both TCP and UDP transports are used, often including UDP multicast as part of the discovery process.
  • the following functions use the network communication services: lookup service; protocol handlers for IP based device protocol implementations; remote access to protocol object adapter; and protocol gateway and protocol bridge components (client use and configuration).
  • the physical connection to the network may be a standard RJ45 that is capable of supporting at least 10/100 Mbit/s Ethernet.
  • Java access to components may be presented to the user through dynamic HTML pages from a web server.
  • the Jini ServiceUI framework may be used to export Java AWT or Swing components for use in a user interface.
  • static configuration of services is accomplished using configuration files such as Java property files and XML files. Security methods, various networking parameters and code locations, and custom metadata entries are supplied in this manner.
  • Dynamic configuration (or administration) of each service is accomplished via the administrable interface supplied by the service itself.
  • XML configuration files are used in conjunction with the administrable interfaces.
  • NTP Network time protocol
  • Serial communication may be used to maintain time synchronization among components.
  • Protocol gateway services operate on protocols using serial transports. Support for RS232 via a DB-9 connection is supplied. Also, both two and four wire RS485 support is provided. Device metadata support
  • An object adapter is, in essence, a protocol neutral abstraction of a single device and its points.
  • the object adapter interface itself provides methods for accessing descriptive metadata about the device itself and its attributes.
  • the networking infrastructure supports metadata directly, such as JMX MBeanlnfo or Jini Entry objects, the network interface layer translates the object adapter's metadata into the appropriate format.
  • the protocol gateway provides synchronous access to a device via protocol specific requests.
  • the one or more object adapter(s) provide synchronous access via assessors for each defined attribute.
  • the protocol bridge objects provide synchronous access to a device according to the specific protocol supported. For example, the N2Bridge implementation responds to read and write requests by mapping the N2 device and object to a corresponding attribute of the protocol object adapter representing the end device.
  • Asynchronous access to a device is provided by the following components, as described below.
  • the protocol gateway provides asynchronous query access to a device via protocol specific requests.
  • the Protocol Gateway is capable of propagating these notifications.
  • the one or more object adapter(s) provide asynchronous query access by polling one or more attributes and notifying clients when the value changes.
  • the protocol bridge objects provide asynchronous access to a device according to the specific protocol supported. For example, the N2Bridge implementation responds to poll requests with updated COS data by mapping the N2 device and object to a corresponding attribute of the Protocol Object Adapter representing the end device and polling these attributes. Service lookup and discovery
  • the software component are implemented as Jini services and participate fully in the Jini Join and Discovery protocols through a Jini lookup service.
  • the components are published using messages on a message bus. Clients and services locate one another by subscribing to the appropriate topic on the message bus and thereby receiving messages informing them of new services appearing on the network.
  • Security is fully configurable for the data collector components.
  • the core components make use of the standard Java security APIs (Java).
  • Authentication and Authorization Service - JAAS for establishing that the current client has permission to perform a requested operation, such as set the value of a writable attribute on an object adapter.
  • the transmission of the credentials to establish a client's privileges is managed by the networking infrastructure.
  • the message header can contain credential information such as a certificate from a public key infrastructure (PKI).
  • PKI public key infrastructure
  • the Jini Extensible Remote Invocation (JERI) layer provides support for passing PKI certificates, passwords, and Kerberos tickets.
  • the networking layer can provide encryption of the traffic through such standard mechanisms as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or symmetric encryption algorithms such as Blowfish.
  • SSL Secure Sockets Layer
  • Blowfish symmetric encryption algorithms
  • the protocol bridge software is built using the Java programming language.
  • the software may be deployed onto any platform capable of hosting a Java (e.g., JDK 1.3 (or later)) runtime environment.
  • Java e.g., JDK 1.3 (or later)
  • Specific requirements of acceptable Java environments are: JDK version 1.3 or later and javax.comm. support (Serial communication libraries).
  • a Jini networking implementation also requires Java RMI support (remote method invocation for inter process communication). Any server based Java deployment or equivalent is suitable.
  • J2ME (Java2 Micro Edition) deployment is also suitable.
  • Examples of platforms on which the protocol bridge software may be deployed include: x86/Windows 2000 Server, Professional and XP, and Modius TCS and TS series (PowerPC/MontaVista Linux/J9 JVM).
  • each application gateway in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention, is able to interface with one, or more, pieces of infrastructure equipment.
  • the infrastructure equipment may either host the application gateway as part of its operational processor as a software application, host the application gateway on a direct internal bus as a hardware application, or be coupled to an externally disposed application gateway by an external bus, such as a serial interface cable or other suitable communication interface bus.
  • an external bus such as a serial interface cable or other suitable communication interface bus.
  • the specific parameters of the physical serial, or other, interface may vary and will depend on the specific communication interface chosen for a particular piece of equipment by the equipment vendor or manufacturer.
  • the interfaces most commonly provided by infrastructure equipment manufactures are serial interfaces such as RS-232, RS-422, RS-485, other interface busses such as CEbus, or might even be a contact closure harness if the infrastructure apparatus was not designed with the capability of supporting more sophisticated communication protocols.
  • the application gateway communicates with each apparatus using its vendor specified native language protocol, and is capable of interrogating each apparatus and receiving a set of monitoring variables in response.
  • monitoring variables might be, for example, a measured temperature, a measured line voltage or current, a line pressure state for a leak detection system, and the like. Because the application gateway is able to communicate with each apparatus in its native language protocol, it need not engage in substantial translation activities.
  • the gateway when prompted to do so by the server, the gateway is able to pass appropriate control variables to its supported equipment, thereby commanding each apparatus to perform a particular function, such as setting a thermostat to a particular temperature, turning on (or off) an HVAC apparatus, raising (or lowering) ambient light levels, and the like.
  • the rules termed vendor specific control codes (or control codes), for managing any particular piece of facilities equipment, are resident in the application gateway and are used by the application gateway to monitor and control each of its supported pieces of apparatus.
  • the choice of which particular control code to issue to a piece of supported equipment is determined by the system server and communicated to the application gateway over the application gateway's network link.
  • FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram 400 of one embodiment of the data collector portion of the application gateway 406 running on a terminal server 402 connected to an Uninterruptible Power Supply ("UPS") 404 communicating over a RS-232 serial connection.
  • the UPS data is sent over a RS-232 serial connection to the data collector device 406, which in turn communicates over a RJ-45 connection over a network ⁇ e.g., WAN, LAN, internet, wired or wireless) with a terminal server.
  • the data collector device 406 virtualizes the UPS 404 and the exposes the UPS 404 as a network device on server 402, such that the proprietary data signals normally available from the devices is exposed in a generic manner for further processing by the management system.
  • Fig. 5 is an exemplary block diagram 500 of the data collector portion of the application gateway 506 running on a serial network card installed on a server connected to multiple power devices 504A-C over serial communication interfaces.
  • the proprietary data signals normally available from the devices are exposed in a generic manner for further processing by the management system.
  • other equivalent or alternative methods for the virtualization of a physical device and the exposing of the device as a network device on a server according to the embodiments of the present invention can be envisioned without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. Accordingly, the foregoing disclosure is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention which is set forth in the following claims.

Abstract

La présente invention concerne un procédé et un appareil conçus pour fournir une interface neutre de protocole, orientée objet et configurable entre un dispositif physique et un serveur. Ledit procédé consiste à coupler une passerelle d'applications au dispositif physique. Cette passerelle d'applications comprend un module de passerelle de protocole qui est conçu pour une communication physique avec le dispositif physique, ainsi qu'un module adaptateur d'objet qui est conçu pour une communication virtuelle entre le dispositif physique et une application client s'exécutant sur un serveur. Le procédé consiste également à configurer un démarreur de service afin de lancer et de lier le module adaptateur d'objet au module de passerelle de protocole, à configurer le module de passerelle de protocole afin de définir l'interface physique entre le dispositif physique et la passerelle de protocole, puis à établir une communication entre le module de passerelle de protocole et le dispositif physique, de manière à présenter le dispositif physique comme un dispositif réseau sur le serveur.
PCT/US2005/027048 2004-07-29 2005-07-29 Passerelle pour dispositif configurable universelle WO2006015245A2 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US59286904P 2004-07-29 2004-07-29
US60/592,869 2004-07-29

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2006015245A2 true WO2006015245A2 (fr) 2006-02-09
WO2006015245A3 WO2006015245A3 (fr) 2007-02-15

Family

ID=35787869

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US2005/027048 WO2006015245A2 (fr) 2004-07-29 2005-07-29 Passerelle pour dispositif configurable universelle

Country Status (2)

Country Link
US (1) US8769106B2 (fr)
WO (1) WO2006015245A2 (fr)

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8769106B2 (en) 2004-07-29 2014-07-01 Thomas Sheehan Universal configurable device gateway
EP2814207A1 (fr) * 2013-06-13 2014-12-17 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd Appareil de communication et procédé de commande correspondant
US9325573B2 (en) 2008-12-09 2016-04-26 Schneider Electric Buildings Ab Building control system
US10067549B1 (en) 2010-04-20 2018-09-04 Modius Inc Computed devices
CN112738237A (zh) * 2020-12-29 2021-04-30 武汉华盛东方科技有限公司 基于多协议自适应的设备智能感知物联网网关管理平台
CN112953818A (zh) * 2021-01-29 2021-06-11 大冶特殊钢有限公司 基于智能网关设备的通讯系统及方法
WO2021152316A1 (fr) * 2020-01-28 2021-08-05 Control Station Ltd Surveillance d'une machine de terrain
CN113259230A (zh) * 2021-05-12 2021-08-13 苏州和欣致远节能科技有限公司 一种多Modbus口的BACnet网关及其通讯方法

Families Citing this family (106)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7593780B2 (en) * 2004-11-03 2009-09-22 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. HMI reconfiguration method and system
US7673337B1 (en) * 2007-07-26 2010-03-02 Dj Inventions, Llc System for secure online configuration and communication
US8024500B2 (en) 2005-08-15 2011-09-20 Research In Motion Limited Universal peripheral connector
US8745124B2 (en) * 2005-10-31 2014-06-03 Ca, Inc. Extensible power control for an autonomically controlled distributed computing system
US9183068B1 (en) * 2005-11-18 2015-11-10 Oracle America, Inc. Various methods and apparatuses to restart a server
US7587251B2 (en) * 2005-12-21 2009-09-08 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Remote monitoring and control of an I/O module
US20070186011A1 (en) * 2006-02-03 2007-08-09 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Industrial protocol and gateway
US20070186010A1 (en) * 2006-02-03 2007-08-09 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Extending industrial control system communications capabilities
WO2007124507A2 (fr) * 2006-04-21 2007-11-01 Topia Technology Integration d'applications diverses sur un reseau
US8095923B2 (en) * 2006-06-29 2012-01-10 Augusta Systems, Inc. System and method for deploying and managing intelligent nodes in a distributed network
US7735060B2 (en) * 2006-06-29 2010-06-08 Augusta Systems, Inc. Method and system for rapidly developing and deploying sensor-enabled software applications
US8015547B2 (en) * 2006-06-29 2011-09-06 Augusta Systems, Inc. Reconfigurable, hierarchical component-based architecture and framework and methods for rapidly developing sensor device-enabling software applications
US20080005721A1 (en) * 2006-06-29 2008-01-03 Augusta Systems, Inc. Method and System for Rapidly Developing Sensor-Enabled Software Applications
US8149849B2 (en) * 2006-08-31 2012-04-03 Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ab Zigbee/IP gateway
US20080080543A1 (en) * 2006-09-28 2008-04-03 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Network switch with controller i/o capability
CN101304350B (zh) * 2007-05-11 2013-02-13 华为技术有限公司 访问家庭网络设备的方法、系统和家庭网络接入设备
US8782771B2 (en) * 2007-06-19 2014-07-15 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Real-time industrial firewall
WO2009003168A1 (fr) * 2007-06-27 2008-12-31 Teletrol Systems, Inc. Système et procédé pour fournir une commande et une modification indépendantes de dispositif
US7856505B2 (en) 2007-06-29 2010-12-21 Microsoft Corporation Instantiating a communication pipeline between software
EP2165472A1 (fr) 2007-07-06 2010-03-24 Moeller GmbH Système et procédé de commande d'appareils connectés en réseau par bus par le biais d'un bus de terrain ouvert
US8195812B1 (en) 2007-07-13 2012-06-05 Sprint Communications Company L.P. System and method for establishing a secure wireless communication path
US7673338B1 (en) * 2007-07-26 2010-03-02 Dj Inventions, Llc Intelligent electronic cryptographic module
US7894460B2 (en) * 2007-07-26 2011-02-22 Air Liquide Large Industries U.S. Lp Programmable logic controller protocol converter
EP2081361B1 (fr) * 2008-01-21 2014-03-26 Alcatel Lucent Systèmes d'informations combinés
WO2009146637A1 (fr) * 2008-06-06 2009-12-10 华为技术有限公司 Procédé et dispositif pour conjonction de dispositif et de passerelle
US8990768B2 (en) * 2008-09-30 2015-03-24 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Software object property return method and system
US8775651B2 (en) * 2008-12-12 2014-07-08 Raytheon Company System and method for dynamic adaptation service of an enterprise service bus over a communication platform
US8718707B2 (en) * 2009-03-20 2014-05-06 Johnson Controls Technology Company Devices, systems, and methods for communicating with rooftop air handling units and other HVAC components
US20110047253A1 (en) * 2009-08-19 2011-02-24 Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. Techniques for controlling gateway functionality to support device management in a communication system
US20110071685A1 (en) * 2009-09-03 2011-03-24 Johnson Controls Technology Company Creation and use of software defined building objects in building management systems and applications
US20110055748A1 (en) * 2009-09-03 2011-03-03 Johnson Controls Technology Company Systems and methods for mapping building management system inputs
DE102009042354C5 (de) * 2009-09-23 2017-07-13 Phoenix Contact Gmbh & Co. Kg Verfahren und Vorrichtung zur sicherheitsgerichteten Kommunikation im Kommunikations-Netzwerk einer Automatisierungs-Anlage
US8775498B2 (en) * 2009-10-23 2014-07-08 International Business Machines Corporation Universal architecture for client management extensions on monitoring, control, and configuration
US8640120B2 (en) * 2009-12-30 2014-01-28 Honeywell International Inc. Approach to automatically encode application enumeration values to enable reuse of applications across various controllers
US9392072B2 (en) * 2010-04-15 2016-07-12 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Systems and methods for conducting communications among components of multidomain industrial automation system
US8484401B2 (en) * 2010-04-15 2013-07-09 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Systems and methods for conducting communications among components of multidomain industrial automation system
US8984533B2 (en) 2010-04-15 2015-03-17 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Systems and methods for conducting communications among components of multidomain industrial automation system
US8631284B2 (en) 2010-04-30 2014-01-14 Western Digital Technologies, Inc. Method for providing asynchronous event notification in systems
NL2004697C2 (en) * 2010-05-10 2011-11-14 Spectator Intellectual Properties B V Data verification system, data converter device and method.
US8762682B1 (en) 2010-07-02 2014-06-24 Western Digital Technologies, Inc. Data storage apparatus providing host full duplex operations using half duplex storage devices
US8816857B2 (en) 2010-10-20 2014-08-26 Panduit Corp. RFID system
US9418256B2 (en) 2010-10-20 2016-08-16 Panduit Corp. RFID system
WO2012068465A1 (fr) 2010-11-19 2012-05-24 Interdigital Patent Holdings, Inc. Procédures d'interface de communication entre machines (m2m) servant à annoncer et désannoncer des ressources
US9252966B2 (en) * 2010-12-08 2016-02-02 At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P. Method and system for configuring instrumentation devices
US8478714B2 (en) * 2011-01-20 2013-07-02 Southern Company Services, Inc. Integrated distribution management system channel adapter
US8278779B2 (en) 2011-02-07 2012-10-02 General Electric Company System and method for providing redundant power to a device
JP5420112B2 (ja) * 2011-04-19 2014-02-19 三菱電機株式会社 ネットワーク解析支援装置、ネットワーク試験装置、ネットワーク解析支援方法、ネットワーク試験方法、ネットワーク解析支援プログラム及びネットワーク試験プログラム
US9325814B2 (en) * 2011-06-02 2016-04-26 Numerex Corp. Wireless SNMP agent gateway
JP5542772B2 (ja) * 2011-10-19 2014-07-09 株式会社日立システムズ ビル設備機器管理システム連結システム、ビル設備機器管理システム連結方法及びビル設備機器管理システム連結プログラム
CN103139265B (zh) * 2011-12-01 2016-06-08 国际商业机器公司 大规模并行计算系统中的网络传输自适应优化方法及系统
EP2817761A2 (fr) * 2012-02-24 2014-12-31 Missing Link Electronics Inc. Partitionnement de systèmes fonctionnant dans de multiples domaines
EP2660667B1 (fr) 2012-05-04 2021-11-10 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Passerelle de nuage pour systèmes d'information et de commande d'automatisation industrielle
JP5657604B2 (ja) * 2012-05-17 2015-01-21 株式会社日立ソリューションズ 端末管理システム、管理サーバ及び方法
US9201938B2 (en) * 2012-05-21 2015-12-01 Sap Se Parameter driven data format conversion in client/server architectures
US9786197B2 (en) 2013-05-09 2017-10-10 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Using cloud-based data to facilitate enhancing performance in connection with an industrial automation system
US9729678B2 (en) * 2013-10-03 2017-08-08 Duke Energy Corporation Methods of processing data corresponding to a device that corresponds to a gas, water, or electric grid, and related devices and computer program products
TWI554056B (zh) * 2014-01-14 2016-10-11 緯創資通股份有限公司 代理伺服器及應用其之網路通訊方法
JP6379359B2 (ja) * 2014-01-31 2018-08-29 パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社 通信端末、蓄電池管理方法及び蓄電池管理プログラム
JP6362072B2 (ja) * 2014-03-07 2018-07-25 キヤノン株式会社 撮像装置及び撮像装置の制御方法
JP6399766B2 (ja) 2014-03-07 2018-10-03 キヤノン株式会社 撮像装置、撮像装置の制御方法及びプログラム
US9479506B2 (en) 2014-04-16 2016-10-25 Intel Corporation At least one mechanism to permit, at least in part, allocation and/or configuration, at least in part, of at least one network-associated object
US10652767B1 (en) * 2014-05-13 2020-05-12 Senseware, Inc. System, method and apparatus for managing disruption in a sensor network application
US9876653B1 (en) 2014-05-13 2018-01-23 Senseware, Inc. System, method and apparatus for augmenting a building control system domain
US10687231B1 (en) 2014-05-13 2020-06-16 Senseware, Inc. System, method and apparatus for presentation of sensor information to a building control system
US9534930B1 (en) 2014-05-13 2017-01-03 Senseware, Inc. System, method and apparatus for sensor activation
US10149141B1 (en) 2014-05-13 2018-12-04 Senseware, Inc. System, method and apparatus for building operations management
US9870476B2 (en) * 2014-09-23 2018-01-16 Accenture Global Services Limited Industrial security agent platform
KR102193828B1 (ko) * 2014-10-01 2020-12-22 엘에스일렉트릭(주) 에코넷-라이트 방식의 단말 및 그의 제어 방법
CN105591781A (zh) * 2014-10-24 2016-05-18 研华股份有限公司 具置入型管理机制的网络装置、系统与管理及监控方法
US20160156501A1 (en) * 2014-11-28 2016-06-02 Advantech Co., Ltd. Network apparatus with inserted management mechanism, system, and method for management and supervision
US11755202B2 (en) 2015-01-20 2023-09-12 Ultrata, Llc Managing meta-data in an object memory fabric
WO2016118615A1 (fr) 2015-01-20 2016-07-28 Ultrata Llc Exécution d'instructions de flux de données de mémoire d'objet
US20160210077A1 (en) * 2015-01-20 2016-07-21 Ultrata Llc Trans-cloud object based memory
US10496061B2 (en) 2015-03-16 2019-12-03 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Modeling of an industrial automation environment in the cloud
US11243505B2 (en) 2015-03-16 2022-02-08 Rockwell Automation Technologies, Inc. Cloud-based analytics for industrial automation
US9886210B2 (en) 2015-06-09 2018-02-06 Ultrata, Llc Infinite memory fabric hardware implementation with router
US10698628B2 (en) 2015-06-09 2020-06-30 Ultrata, Llc Infinite memory fabric hardware implementation with memory
CN104901876A (zh) * 2015-06-09 2015-09-09 苏州新奇迅网络有限公司 一种矿用多协议嵌入式网关系统
US9971542B2 (en) 2015-06-09 2018-05-15 Ultrata, Llc Infinite memory fabric streams and APIs
US10135871B2 (en) 2015-06-12 2018-11-20 Accenture Global Solutions Limited Service oriented software-defined security framework
US10332090B2 (en) 2015-08-27 2019-06-25 Acumera, Inc. Providing secure remote access to a device at a merchant location
KR101977401B1 (ko) * 2015-09-03 2019-05-13 엘에스산전 주식회사 동적 모드버스 프로토콜 매핑을 지원하는 통신 장치
US10178206B2 (en) 2015-11-10 2019-01-08 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Multi-protocol gateway for connecting sensor devices to cloud
WO2017100288A1 (fr) 2015-12-08 2017-06-15 Ultrata, Llc. Opérations et cohérence de matrice de mémoire au moyen d'objets tolérants aux fautes
WO2017100281A1 (fr) 2015-12-08 2017-06-15 Ultrata, Llc Mise en œuvre logicielle d'une matrice de mémoire
US10178177B2 (en) * 2015-12-08 2019-01-08 Honeywell International Inc. Apparatus and method for using an internet of things edge secure gateway
CN109154802A (zh) * 2016-03-31 2019-01-04 江森自控科技公司 分布式建筑物管理系统中的hvac装置注册
US10317101B2 (en) * 2016-10-27 2019-06-11 Johnson Controls Technology Company HVAC device controller with network integration capabilities
CN106790222B (zh) * 2017-01-12 2020-04-07 重庆邮电大学 一种modbus/全互联制造网络信息服务适配器及其实现方法
US10686865B2 (en) * 2017-04-10 2020-06-16 Ayla Networks, Inc. Third-party application control of devices in an IoT platform
US10802512B2 (en) * 2017-05-01 2020-10-13 Johnson Controls Technology Company HVAC device controller with integrated refrigeration controller interface
US11343317B2 (en) 2017-05-25 2022-05-24 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Data transmission method and device
WO2018214168A1 (fr) * 2017-05-26 2018-11-29 西门子公司 Procédé et appareil de transmission de données
US10962945B2 (en) 2017-09-27 2021-03-30 Johnson Controls Technology Company Building management system with integration of data into smart entities
CN110166646A (zh) * 2018-02-12 2019-08-23 南京南瑞继保电气有限公司 多主机火灾报警系统接入轨道交通综合监控系统的方法
US10534733B2 (en) * 2018-04-26 2020-01-14 EMC IP Holding Company LLC Flexible I/O slot connections
US10891148B2 (en) * 2018-08-15 2021-01-12 Vmware, Inc. Methods and systems for identifying application components in distributed computing facilities
US11212134B2 (en) * 2018-09-17 2021-12-28 Siemens Schweiz Ag Building automation system providing for integration of subsystems
EP3679690A1 (fr) * 2018-10-08 2020-07-15 Google LLC Commande et/ou enregistrement de dispositifs intelligents, assurés au niveau local par un dispositif client auxiliaire
US11206150B2 (en) * 2018-11-29 2021-12-21 Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP Controller with automatic field bus protocol detection
RU2724796C1 (ru) 2019-02-07 2020-06-25 Акционерное общество "Лаборатория Касперского" Система и способ защиты автоматизированных систем при помощи шлюза
RU2746105C2 (ru) 2019-02-07 2021-04-07 Акционерное общество "Лаборатория Касперского" Система и способ конфигурирования шлюза для защиты автоматизированных систем
CN111147365A (zh) * 2019-12-25 2020-05-12 上海新物科技有限公司 一种模块化物联网网关设备
US11536478B2 (en) * 2020-02-20 2022-12-27 Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP Systems and methods for optimizing data routing in HVAC networks
CN112367199B (zh) * 2020-10-30 2023-08-22 中国兵器科学研究院 一种可配置的自适应智能网关及配置方法
CN115134385A (zh) * 2022-06-29 2022-09-30 北京鸿蒙网科技有限公司 支持万物互联互通的自定义网络系统、自定义连接方法

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20020087622A1 (en) * 2000-12-29 2002-07-04 Anderson Eric C. Meta-application architecture for integrating photo-service websites for browser-enabled devices
US20030065721A1 (en) * 2001-09-28 2003-04-03 Roskind James A. Passive personalization of buddy lists
US20050102406A1 (en) * 2003-11-07 2005-05-12 Cisco Technology, Inc. Automated configuration of a gateway
US20060168275A1 (en) * 2004-11-22 2006-07-27 Lin Peter A Method to facilitate a service convergence fabric

Family Cites Families (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6389464B1 (en) * 1997-06-27 2002-05-14 Cornet Technology, Inc. Device management system for managing standards-compliant and non-compliant network elements using standard management protocols and a universal site server which is configurable from remote locations via internet browser technology
JP4058845B2 (ja) 1999-06-24 2008-03-12 松下電器産業株式会社 ゲートウェイ装置
JP2003532171A (ja) 1999-11-24 2003-10-28 ケナミア、インコーポレイテッド 電子ネットワークを通じて連続的且つインタラクティブな通信を行う方法とシステム
US20020103898A1 (en) 2001-01-31 2002-08-01 Moyer Stanley L. System and method for using session initiation protocol (SIP) to communicate with networked appliances
US7339895B2 (en) 2001-08-21 2008-03-04 Hitachi, Ltd. Gateway device and control method for communication with IP and IPV6 protocols
US7254601B2 (en) * 2001-12-20 2007-08-07 Questra Corporation Method and apparatus for managing intelligent assets in a distributed environment
JP2003208392A (ja) 2002-01-11 2003-07-25 Fujitsu Ltd ファイル送信装置、ウェブサーバ、ファイル送信システム、ファイル送信プログラム、およびウェブサーバプログラム
JP4369101B2 (ja) 2002-09-04 2009-11-18 富士通株式会社 ゲートウェイカード、ゲートウェイ装置、ゲートウェイ制御方法およびゲートウェイ制御プログラム
US7246193B2 (en) * 2003-01-30 2007-07-17 Rosemount, Inc. Interface module for use with a Modbus device network and a Fieldbus device network
US20050228509A1 (en) * 2004-04-07 2005-10-13 Robert James System, device, and method for adaptively providing a fieldbus link
WO2006015245A2 (fr) 2004-07-29 2006-02-09 Modius, Inc. Passerelle pour dispositif configurable universelle
US8447993B2 (en) 2008-01-23 2013-05-21 Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated Integrated energy savings and business operations in data centers
US8671294B2 (en) 2008-03-07 2014-03-11 Raritan Americas, Inc. Environmentally cognizant power management

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20020087622A1 (en) * 2000-12-29 2002-07-04 Anderson Eric C. Meta-application architecture for integrating photo-service websites for browser-enabled devices
US20030065721A1 (en) * 2001-09-28 2003-04-03 Roskind James A. Passive personalization of buddy lists
US20050102406A1 (en) * 2003-11-07 2005-05-12 Cisco Technology, Inc. Automated configuration of a gateway
US20060168275A1 (en) * 2004-11-22 2006-07-27 Lin Peter A Method to facilitate a service convergence fabric

Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8769106B2 (en) 2004-07-29 2014-07-01 Thomas Sheehan Universal configurable device gateway
US9325573B2 (en) 2008-12-09 2016-04-26 Schneider Electric Buildings Ab Building control system
US10067549B1 (en) 2010-04-20 2018-09-04 Modius Inc Computed devices
EP2814207A1 (fr) * 2013-06-13 2014-12-17 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd Appareil de communication et procédé de commande correspondant
KR20140145325A (ko) * 2013-06-13 2014-12-23 삼성전자주식회사 통신 장치 및 그 제어 방법
US10256987B2 (en) 2013-06-13 2019-04-09 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Communication apparatus and method of controlling the same
KR101995862B1 (ko) 2013-06-13 2019-10-01 삼성전자주식회사 통신 장치 및 그 제어 방법
WO2021152316A1 (fr) * 2020-01-28 2021-08-05 Control Station Ltd Surveillance d'une machine de terrain
CN112738237A (zh) * 2020-12-29 2021-04-30 武汉华盛东方科技有限公司 基于多协议自适应的设备智能感知物联网网关管理平台
CN112953818A (zh) * 2021-01-29 2021-06-11 大冶特殊钢有限公司 基于智能网关设备的通讯系统及方法
CN113259230A (zh) * 2021-05-12 2021-08-13 苏州和欣致远节能科技有限公司 一种多Modbus口的BACnet网关及其通讯方法

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US8769106B2 (en) 2014-07-01
US20060067209A1 (en) 2006-03-30
WO2006015245A3 (fr) 2007-02-15

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US8769106B2 (en) Universal configurable device gateway
US10429092B2 (en) Asynchronous reporting system
US20140081466A1 (en) Gateway round-robin system
CN111556163A (zh) 基于opc ua的多传输协议设备监控系统
Milenkovic Internet of Things: Concepts and System Design
WO2000079745A1 (fr) Communications impliquant un protocole disparate, des reseaux et des bus et des sous-systemes de dispositifs
US10505750B2 (en) Box for communication and management of devices
US10917263B1 (en) Universal configurable device gateway
US10514713B2 (en) Mailbox data storage system
US20180191858A1 (en) System for managing data of user devices
Bovet et al. A web-of-things gateway for knx networks
Järvinen et al. Integration platform for home and building automation systems
US11212134B2 (en) Building automation system providing for integration of subsystems
EP1198101A1 (fr) Mecanisme d'approvisionnement pour une passerelle de services
US11438191B2 (en) Interconnection box for user devices
Kirchhof et al. Component-based development of Web-enabled eHome services
KR101740236B1 (ko) 엠큐티티(mqtt) 및 디디에스(dds) 클라이언트 모듈을 갖는 장치를 위한 원격관리시스템
EP2317437A2 (fr) Module et procédés pour l'interconnection d'équipements hétérogènes aux ressources limitées via une couche communication intermédiaire orientée-objet
KR100351951B1 (ko) 인터넷을 통한 소호 제어 장치 및 그 방법
US11329841B2 (en) Method of communication between a remote action manager and a communication box
Macas Open source IoT technology to connect environment monitoring system
Trchalík et al. Unified Sensor Gateway Interconnection of sensor Networks
Chango Macas Open Source IoT Technology to Connect Environment Monitoring System
Xiao Application of Modbus/TCP Protocol in Smart Home
Song et al. Parameter-based mechanism for unifying user interaction, applications and communication protocols

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AK Designated states

Kind code of ref document: A2

Designated state(s): AE AG AL AM AT AU AZ BA BB BG BR BW BY BZ CA CH CN CO CR CU CZ DE DK DM DZ EC EE EG ES FI GB GD GE GH GM HR HU ID IL IN IS JP KE KG KM KP KR KZ LC LK LR LS LT LU LV MA MD MG MK MN MW MX MZ NA NG NI NO NZ OM PG PH PL PT RO RU SC SD SE SG SK SL SM SY TJ TM TN TR TT TZ UA UG US UZ VC VN YU ZA ZM ZW

AL Designated countries for regional patents

Kind code of ref document: A2

Designated state(s): GM KE LS MW MZ NA SD SL SZ TZ UG ZM ZW AM AZ BY KG KZ MD RU TJ TM AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HU IE IS IT LT LU LV MC NL PL PT RO SE SI SK TR BF BJ CF CG CI CM GA GN GQ GW ML MR NE SN TD TG

121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application
NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: DE

32PN Ep: public notification in the ep bulletin as address of the adressee cannot be established

Free format text: NOTING OF LOSS OF RIGHTS PURSUANT TO RULE 69(1) EPC OF 050607

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 05781886

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A2